Intel today introduced a portfolio of datacenter products and technologies for cloud service providers looking to drive efficiency and flexibility into their infrastructure to support a demand for new services.

The portfolio includes the second generation 64-bit Intel Atom C2000 product family of system-on-chip (SoC) designs for microservers and cold storage platforms (code named "Avoton") and for entry networking platforms (code named "Rangeley"). These new SoCs are the company's first products based on the Silvermont micro-architecture, the new design in its 22nm Tri-Gate SoC process delivering significant increases in performance and energy efficiency.

Avoton SKU

Model

Cores

Clock frequency (turbo mode)

L2 cache

Package

TDP

Price (1K units)

Atom C2570

8

2.4GHｚ(2.6GHz)

4MB

FCBGA1283

20W

$171

Atom C2730

8

1.7GHｚ(2GHz)

4MB

FCBGA1283

12W

$150

Atom C2550

4

2.4GHz(2.6GHz)

2MB

FCBGA1283

14W

$86

Atom C2530

4

1.7GHz(2GHz)

2MB

FCBGA1283

9W

$70

Atom C2350

2

1.7GHz(2GHz)

1MB

FCBGA1283

6W

$43

Rangeley SKU

Model

Number of cores

Clock Frequency

L2 cache

QAT

TDP

Atom C2758

8

2.4GHz

4MB

○

20W

Atom C2738

8

2.4GHz

4MB

-

20W

Atom C2718

8

2GHz

4MB

-

20W

Atom C2558

4

2.4GHz

2MB

○

15W

Atom C2538

4

2.4GHz

2MB

-

15W

Atom C2518

4

1.7GHz

2MB

-

13W

Atom C2358

2

1.7GHz(2GHz)

1MB

○

7W

Atom C2358

2

1.7GHz(2GHz)

1MB

-

7W

"As the world becomes more and more mobile, the pressure to support billions of devices and users is changing the very composition of datacenters," said Diane Bryant, senior vice president and general manager of the Datacenter and Connected Systems Group at Intel. "From leadership in silicon and SoC design to rack architecture and software enabling, Intel is providing the key innovations that original equipment manufacturers, telecommunications equipment makers and cloud service providers require to build the datacenters of the future."

Intel also demonstrated the first operational Intel Rack Scale Architecture (RSA)-based rack with Intel Silicon Photonics Technology in combination with the disclosure of a new MXC connector and ClearCurve optical fiber developed by Corning with requirements from Intel.

Manufactured using Intel's 22nm process technology, the new Intel Atom C2000 product family features up to eight cores, a range of 6 to 20Watts TDP, integrated Ethernet and support for up to 64 gigabytes (GB) of memory, eight times the previous generation. OVH and 1&1, global web-hosting services companies, have tested Intel Atom C2000 SoCs and plan to deploy them in its entry-level dedicated hosting services next quarter.

Intel is delivering 13 specific models with customized features and accelerators that are optimized for particular lightweight workloads such as entry dedicated hosting, distributed memory caching, static web serving and content delivery.

For example, the new Intel Atom configurations for entry networking address the specialized needs for securing and routing Internet traffic more efficiently. The product features a set of hardware accelerators called Intel QuickAssist Technology that improves cryptographic performance. They are suited for routers and security appliances.

Network solutions that manage data traffic across microservers can significantly impact the performance and density of the system. The combination of the Intel Ethernet Switch FM5224 silicon and the WindRiver Open Network Software suite will enable the industry's first 2.5GbE, high-density, low latency, SDN Ethernet switch solutions specifically developed for microservers. The solution complements the integrated Intel Ethernet controller within the Intel Atom C2000 processor. Together, they can be used to create SDN solutions for the datacenter.

Switches using the new Intel Ethernet Switch FM5224 silicon can connect up to 64 microservers, providing up to 30 percent higher node density. They are based on Intel Open Network Platform reference design announced earlier this year.

Maximum datacenter efficiency requires innovation at the silicon, system and rack level. Intel's RSA design helps industry partners to re-architect datacenters for modularity of components (storage, CPU, memory, network) at the rack level. It provides the ability to provision or logically compose resources based on application specific workload requirements. Intel RSA also will allow for the easier replacement and configuration of components when deploying cloud computing, storage and networking resources.

Intel today demonstrated the first operational RSA-based rack equipped with the newly announced Intel Atom C2000 processors, Intel Xeon processors, a top-of-rack Intel SDN-enabled switch and Intel Silicon Photonics Technology. As part of the demonstration, Intel also disclosed the new MXC connector and ClearCurve fiber technology developed by Corning with requirements from Intel. The fiber connections are specifically designed to work with Intel Silicon Photonics components.

The collaboration underscores the tremendous need for high-speed bandwidth within datacenters. By sending photons over a thin optical fiber instead of electrical signals over a copper cable, the new technologies are capable of transferring massive amounts of data at unprecedented speeds over greater distances. The transfers can be as fast as 1.6 terabits per second at lengths up to 300 meters throughout the datacenter.

To highlight the growing range of Intel RSA implementations, Microsoft and Intel announced a collaboration to innovate on Microsoft's next-generation RSA rack design. The goal is to bring even better utilization, economics and flexibility to Microsoft's datacenters.

The Intel Atom C2000 product family is shipping now with more than 50 designs for microservers, cold storage and networking. The products are expected to be available in the coming months from vendors including Advantech, Dell, Ericsson, HP, NEC, Newisys, Penguin Computing, Portwell, Quanta, Supermicro, WiWynn, ZNYX Networks.